The quickest path to my heart might have to be through the beach. Anything beach. I love being there, thinking about it, listening to beach sounds, breathing in beach air. Every summer since I can remember my family has spent a week at Newport beach, where all we do is sit by the water, play Smashball, eat yummy food and ride our bikes down to the pier. I love it. I had to miss the trip last year because I was so pregnant at the time, and I swear a little piece of my soul went missing that August. This year, though, I am so. geared. up. for the annual Newport trip – I can hardly take the anticipation. PLUS, Miss Sunshine will be there, for the very first time, eating sand and putting her toes in the Pacific. Can’t wait.

All of that said, it’s no wonder I was drawn to today’s Awesome Item. Candace over at Shanti Shanty has produced such a beautiful mixed-media watercolor painting showing a dramatic tree on the shores of the sea. I love how the colors and lines of the tree pop out, the way she uses water splotches to define what could be clouds, waves, and the grasses at the base of the tree. In the description she writes, “if I were a tree, I’d like to live by the sea.” To that I reply, “yes. Me too.”